


Erin Eventually Gets There

by SlowBurnJane



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-22
Updated: 2016-07-22
Packaged: 2018-07-26 00:03:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7552372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlowBurnJane/pseuds/SlowBurnJane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A short little Holtzbert story that explores Erin's thought process while she figures out that a) Holtzmann likes her, and b) that she likes Holtzmann back.  I picture Erin as a late bloomer in terms of her bisexuality.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Erin Eventually Gets There

Erin knew physics.  She could break down the world around her into its smallest form and know with absolute certainty the fundamental components of each and every particle of matter.  She excelled in this area and her confidence was never more buoyant than when she was explaining a concept to her colleagues or participating in ground-breaking metaphysical research in the fire hall turned laboratory she had wrangled from City Hall for the quartet of ‘ghost girls’.  She supposed she’d eventually get used to the Ghostbusters moniker the public had bestowed upon them, as un-science-y as that was.

Outside of physics, Erin’s expertise and confidence swan-dived faster than Abby could slide down the fireman’s poll.  With work being the majority of her life, these facts did little to bother her.  She knew her comfort zone and it just happened to be about an inch in all directions.  A personal life was something other people did.  People who could carry a conversation with someone they had just met without sweating profusely or forgetting the language they were speaking in.

Still, she had needs, certain urges.  She wished for someone to share those small moments with.  The ones right before bed and first thing in the morning.  Along the walk to the grocery store and beside her on the old leather couch in the second hand bookstore she liked that had old volumes of science publications nobody paid attention to anymore.  Erin had no idea where to find this person or even if such a person existed.  And if they existed would they fit in the bizarre niche she had found herself otherwise thriving in. 

The answer felt beyond her understanding for the longest time.

She would wonder about it while nodding along to 80’s pop songs while watching Holtzmann twirl a lead pipe around like a samurai sword while nearly hanging upside down from the top of the containment unit.

She then promptly forgot about it when the blonde accidentally clipped Patty on the arm and the taller woman ranted and raved for ten whole minutes about how she “did not sign up for no cirque du soleil bullshit”.  To be fair, she hadn’t and Holtzmann had apologized in the form of an awkward ditty and then apologized a second time for only having dry ice and not actual ice to ease her bruising.

Abby had ordered them the mother of all first aid kits after that.

Erin found herself wondering why she kept a mental tally of how many fire extinguishers Holtzmann used in a week.  Last week she had needed four but this week so far the only thing that had caught fire was the microwave when Kevin tried to heat up soup still in the can.  She felt oddly disappointed for some reason.

She had always been excited to preview the new inventions Abby and Holtzmann came up with but if she were honest, her favorites were the ones specifically tailored for her own research or use.  Holtzmann would sidle up to her and present her latest designs with a proud grin and a touch to her shoulder.  It didn’t even faze her anymore when a casual, “Your blood type is O+, right?” was murmured close to her ear before she touched whatever device or display.

The day Holtzmann asked them if it was alright if she bought a pool table for upstairs jolted Erin a little.  It was the first time in the months since they had all been working together that she realized Holtzmann had interests outside of their work too.  She wondered what other things the blonde enjoyed.

She tried to picture things Jillian Holtzmann enjoyed.

She wondered why nobody called her Jillian, or even Jill.

She also wondered why she had never noticed how many times the scientist winked at her in a single day.

She wondered when just the sight of yellow tinted safety glasses made her heart beat a little faster.

She wondered how she never knew she was attracted to women as well as men until four decades into life.

She wondered how Holtzmann felt about her.

She wondered if Abby would mind if something happened.  She was pretty sure Patty wouldn’t mind.  Patty was perceptive and probably had an inkling anyway.  Erin wished she had Patty’s confidence.  It all came back to confidence.

A hand waving in front of Erin’s face brought her back from her thoughts.  “Uhhh…Are you still with me on this, Erin?” Holtzmann asked her, smirking.

Erin shook her head a little and smiled, “Yes, yes, of course.  We… uh, we were… um…” she tried.

“The accelerator,” Holtzmann offered, pointing to the blue circular device on the bench in front of them.  “It’s been upgraded so it won’t stall on your next trial.”

Erin nodded, “Right, that’s…that’s wonderful.  Thank you, Holtz.”  She was pleased that she could continue on with her project and thankful she didn’t sound like a complete moron.  She could see she was getting side eye from Holtzmann though so turned and gave her a smile.  “I really appreciate everything you do, Jillian.”

She watched as the blonde’s eyes snapped up to meet hers in an instant.  She held her breath as the blue eyes searched her own for a long moment before a brilliant smile broke over her face.

“You see me,” Holtzmann murmured, a note of awe in her voice.

“I have for a while, I think.” Erin said, another smile blooming across her face.

The scientist reached up and brushed her hand against Erin’s cheek.  “You’re a physicist, you had all of the particles and matter categorized and sorted, but…but you needed further evidence to support--” she was cut off by the press of lips against her own.  Erin gently gripped Holtzmann’s vest with both hands as she leaned into the blonde.

“We both know it took me way too long to figure this out.  We don’t need the scientific explanation for what I couldn’t see right in front of my face.” She muttered against Holtzmann’s lips.  She felt the blonde grin in response and then there were no more words for quite some time.


End file.
